Random Temp Gauge

[nickwren27]

for some reason my leon temp gauge has been acting strange all day. start car from cold, after about 10mins, needle hits 90c, after half hour of driving I looked down at the dash to see the needle slowly moving back down to 60c, then floating between 60 and 90c the rest of journey. coming back home, thought all was well till the last min of the journey wen it started going back down again? Checked the water level when engine had cooled, all looked normal.

Has anyone seen or heard of this before and can point me in the right direction? Could it be thermostat, electrical fault, MAF sensor problem?

 

[dj_hektik]

could be the water temp sensor or a loose connection

 

[Sharc]

I had exactly the same problem - temp gauge was occasionally dropping down to 60 then returning to 90, never went above 90 though. Garage initially thought it was the water pump but tried replacing the temp sensor instead and all fixed!

 

[AwesomeSarah]

Hi
Yes coolant temp sensor faulty
Very common for going down.
By replacing it it could even make your fuel consumption better
Sarah

 

[nickwren27]

Thanks for all your help there. Is this a garage job or something I could easily swap out myself? What sort of price does this coolant temp sensor cost?

With regards to the fuel consumption, i have noticed over the past few weeks thats it's been about 50miles short of what i normally get, could the two problems be related?

Thanks Again!

 

[AwesomeSarah]

Hi
No you should be able to do it.
I believe is it a 059 919 501A or B but check with the dealer first.
It is located in the thermostat housing.
Remove electric clip off top , pull out horse shape clip off the side remove sensor.
Replace sensor (making sure the seal on the sensor is on correctly) replace horse shoe clip and replace electric sensor on the top.
You dont have to redo anything with the ECU but you will notice a difference with that.
Do everything on the cooling when the engine is cold.
Just unscrew the expansion tank cap too and make sure you tighten it after the job
Sarah

 

[nickwren27]

Hi
No you should be able to do it.
I believe is it a 059 919 501A or B but check with the dealer first.
It is located in the thermostat housing.
Remove electric clip off top , pull out horse shape clip off the side remove sensor.
Replace sensor (making sure the seal on the sensor is on correctly) replace horse shoe clip and replace electric sensor on the top.
You dont have to redo anything with the ECU but you will notice a difference with that.
Do everything on the cooling when the engine is cold.
Just unscrew the expansion tank cap too and make sure you tighten it after the job
Sarah

Thanks Sarah,

I don't suppose you have a photo showing where the Thermostat housing is? Thanks for the guide though, all seems pretty simple otherwise.

 

[AwesomeSarah]

Hi Mate
No I dont , but then there may be a pic on this forum , as I know that many people have suffered with this before.
Sarah

 

[nickwren27]

I'll have a hunt round see what I can find. I did find a pic last nite, but it was of an Ibiza engine

 

[AndyHazza]

The engine coolant temp sensor is located on the right hand side of the head. Take off your main engine cover, and the smaller one that runs round the front of the engine and you should be able to see it there. Its more than likely going to have the older black temp sensor, the new ones are now green.